5th of July

So we fired up the new girly-sized Lexus Hybrid, packed D2, Wifey, and gear appropriate for a 1 week stay instead of a one day trip, and headed to pick up lovely Catherine, D2's friend. Second stop: the Biltmore Hotel for the 4th. Before we arrived, the texts from D1 were already heating up the cell phones. She and Joel had arrived early to secure some pool chairs, and there had been an incident. 2 hours after they sat down, a middle aged couple claimed the chairs were THEIRS -- they had staked them out at 9 am, and D1 and Joel needed to get moving. Not so fast. D1 was way impressed -- Joel had acted very UN Midwestern, and told the couple to go pound sand. Management was summoned and agreed with our team -- no "reserving" pool chairs was allowed. We arrived to find a very sour faced couple, now seated one row behind. I thought about various sarcastic comments I would share with them, but instead simply viewed the gorgeous surroundings, and lifted my own mood. The rest of the day was grand. We drank overpriced cocktails by the waterfall bar, ate delicious but also overpriced burgers and wraps, and rested inside our room and out. Joel, the Ds, and Catherine, swam and floated and drank most of the day. Later, we all gathered in the "mini suite" and watched the hot dog eating contest live from Coney Island. The ladies got nauseated; Joel and I got hungry. All showered, and we headed out to the golf course, where food trucks and some Biltmore food tents were awaiting. We bought some $8 hot dogs (they WERE delicious) and strolled the greens. Then, it was back to the waterfall bar, for some rum runners for the ladies, and Ketel One for me. We found a lovely patch of grass right by the pool exit, and watched a truly spectacular fireworks display. It occured to me that if fireworks don't awe you, you might as well pack it in. And these were truly remarkable -- exploding colors and shapes right above us, for well over 30 minutes. As soon as the grand finale had its final reports, I scrambled us all together to beat the crowd, and we retired to an old wood paneled bar inside the hotel. We ordered some more food, and watched the line for the car valet grow. One fellow ended up at the bar after waiting over 90 minutes. I recognized him as an old fellow season ticket holder at the Orange Bowl. We fist bumped to the Canes, and to America's birthday. We went back to the room to let more of the crowd thin out. Around 11, we returned to the lobby, and now the wait for the girly Lexus was only about 15 minutes. We dropped Catherine off, and Wifey cleaned up some dog pee and poop -- the bitches must have been scared by the local firecrackers and rockets. Plus, Honey, the ancient lab can't be kept in for long periods any more. Despite the dog droppings, it was a truly grand Fourth. I think next year we'll get a cabana, as we did in years past -- to avoid pool chair squabbles. The Biltmore was majestic, bathed in lights. It's truly a glorious old building, and part of our family history as well. Brava, old lady...